Southport Ice Rink

Choleric · Post by **Choleric** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:12 am

OWH wrote:Sarpy County is taking a shot - a slap-shot - at bringing another sporting venue to the suburbs.

Kermit Brashear, who is negotiating a ballpark deal with the Omaha Royals, is talking with private developers about possibly building an ice rink next to the ballpark.

A rink could serve youth hockey and figure-skating clubs or even become a new home for the Omaha Lancers hockey team, Brashear said.

Ben Robert, one of the Lancers owners, said the team was "looking at all of our options at this point."

The Lancers, who play at the Mid-America Center, have been in talks with Council Bluffs on a contract for future seasons.

A rink would fit Sarpy County's vision for an entertainment district near Interstate 80 and anchored by a new 7,000-seat ballpark for Omaha's Triple A team.

Brashear said there's high demand for public ice time at metro rinks, with Omaha's southwestern suburbs particularly under-served.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:55 am

The ballpark isn't going anywhere near Southport; no room. Most of the speculation has been closer to 370/I-80...

Post by **Brad** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 4:25 pm

HskrFanMike wrote:The ballpark isn't going anywhere near Southport; no room. Most of the speculation has been closer to 370/I-80...

I thought the same thing... However, I was wrong, there are a few locations it would work... One real good.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:26 pm

Twiztid1 wrote:
Brad wrote:
HskrFanMike wrote:The ballpark isn't going anywhere near Southport; no room. Most of the speculation has been closer to 370/I-80...
I thought the same thing... However, I was wrong, there are a few locations it would work... One real good.
Where at? It looks like there's a large, unplanned area south of Cabela's. Can an ice rink fit in Southport too?

That land south of Cabelas would work just fine for an ice rink, like the one at Tranquility. The location just south and west of Cabelas that had been previously suggested last spring for the ballpark is now supposed to be an office park. Construction on that was supposed to begin last fall.

tommy316 · Post by **tommy316** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 3:22 pm

All the rumblin' I hear is that they want RETAIL out at Southport instead of a ballpark, now there's supposed to be office buildings going where the ballpark was purposed? How much more frickin' money will that bring in over a ballpark? I know/ feel that Southport would be the ideal spot for the Ballpark, but I think the price is to high for that plot. A ice rink would be a perfect addition to a ballpark in that area, plus the movie theater. That location would boom as a entertainment destination. Throw in a small concert venue (i.e. House of Blues) and you'd have restaurants and retail |expletive| to get in there. The ice rink could generate money year round and the ball park would make a decent run during the spring and summer. The stadiums would bring in in-direct income to the area.

As for retail, what's out there for Southport? Macy's, AKEA (sp?), Crate and Barrel??? There is so much retail around the Metro that for something to really work and have any sort of staying power I feel would have to be new to the area. And with this economy, whose expanding in the retail world?

Like most things, they'll drag their feet and we'll never see the FULL potential develop.

tommy316 · Post by **tommy316** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:46 pm

An ice rink wouldn't be good just for the Lancers, although I would be a season ticket holder (again) if they moved back, but also for area ice time. It's my understanding that there is very little available in the metro (and that includes Fremont's rink). That's why I think a Ice Rink would be a good venture- you'd get year round use for leagues and lessons and be a home for the Lancers (maybe even the Mavs- don't know their situation with the Qwest).

The ballpark could be a home to the Royals, Bellevue University and UNO (NAIA Wolrd Series), Metro and State High School games and Legion summer games (Slump Buster Tournament that received national coverage at the La Vista Fields), outdoor concerts and Friday Night Fireworks!!!YIPPIEE!

A House of Blues with a nice cozy concert hall, may spell trouble for Sokol Hall shows, but who really likes parking at BK anyways :lol: Better parking, bigger acts and the same smaller ones to fill in the schedule. I'm no music scene expert, just my opinion. I've been to a couple HOB's and they seem pretty cool.

And of course the movie theater.........restaurants and shops to fill out the remaining space. The convention center would surely benefit from all that, who wouldn't want to have their convention there with all that across the street.

Any office buildings should stay on the East Port side!!!!!

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:12 am

tommy316 wrote:
A House of Blues with a nice cozy concert hall, may spell trouble for Sokol Hall shows, but who really likes parking at BK anyways :lol: Better parking, bigger acts and the same smaller ones to fill in the schedule. I'm no music scene expert, just my opinion. I've been to a couple HOB's and they seem pretty cool.

Have you ever been to a concert anywhere before? Most of the decent clubs in any city are in the urban areas, not some suburban strip mall.

tommy316 · Post by **tommy316** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:08 pm

Have you ever been out by Southport? It's not a strip mall and most suburbs don't have a major interstate that exits out into it.

And lets not kid ourselves, this is not a BOOMING metropolis, the difference between urban and suburban around he is not that great and far apart. O! is growing and heading in the right direction, but it's still got a long way to go.

Furthermore, are you saying you can't have a good concert venue unless it's in the middle of a downtown with crappy parking? I don't see your point about the location. If you make it an entertainment destination (oh, kinda like what they are trying to do downtown) with shops and event oriented places (i.e. ballpark, ice rink, movie theater, convention center) then why wouldn't a concert hall in a House of Blues work?

Have you ever been to a House of Blues? Yes, yes, very commercial and all, but they still get in good shows.

nebport5 · Post by **nebport5** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:17 pm

Between The Slowdown, Sokol, Harrah's and The Qwest, Omaha already gets very good shows. Sure I'd love a House of Blues too, but not only are they very urban(I'm not aware of any suburban locations), they also are located in larger cities. But you're right about the current economic expansion(which there is little) and I wouldn't hold my breathe for HoB or anything like Macy's, which has been closing stores.

tommy316 · Post by **tommy316** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:01 pm

I agree that they are mostly in larger cities, maybe not a great fit for the market- maybe when it becomes a BOOMING metroplis :;): , but I still don't consider that area suburban. I guess I think of Shadow Lake and Village Point as suburban. This isn't urban, but it's not really suburban in my opinion- maybe cuz it's not completely surrounded by housing I guess.

Good point about Slowdown and Harrah's- I don't think Qwest is a fair comparision, different types of shows there (bigger names). I just think with ALL of that stuff in place that something like that could work very well- in SUBURBIA.

nebport5 · Post by **nebport5** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 1:51 am

tommy316 wrote:I agree that they are mostly in larger cities, maybe not a great fit for the market- maybe when it becomes a BOOMING metroplis :;): , but I still don't consider that area suburban. I guess I think of Shadow Lake and Village Point as suburban. This isn't urban, but it's not really suburban in my opinion- maybe cuz it's not completely surrounded by housing I guess.

Good point about Slowdown and Harrah's- I don't think Qwest is a fair comparision, different types of shows there (bigger names). I just think with ALL of that stuff in place that something like that could work very well- in SUBURBIA.

Understood and agreed on the Qwest, but prior to it opening many big names passed on coming here, so that's why I included it. Yes, such a venue could work at Southport, but I'd rather see it downtown. If anything happens with the Civic(ala torn down) I hope the Music Hall would be saved. I think its an underused venue and the closest in size and dimensions to HoB.